Grumpy Old Man
He may not look like much, kid, but he's got it where it counts.
If you had to describe Harrison Ford in a single word, which one would you use? Thirty years ago, when Ford was at the height of his “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” fame, “charming” would probably be the first words that’d pop into your head; later when he was throwing terrorists out of planes in “Air Force One” and leading communists to their doom in “K-19: The Widowmaker,” maybe “commanding” would be the way to go.
Now that the A-list actor is in his 70s, though, we’re sure that almost everyone you meet would use exact same term: “grumpy.”
On first glance, it seems like the perfect description of the furrowed brow and exasperated frown that Ford now wears on a semi-regular basis. And it’s not as if the guy hasn’t made his preference not to suffer fools very clear to us, especially where “Star Wars” is concerned. He famously believed that Han Solo needed to die at the end of the original trilogy, and once called him “Ham Yoyo” during an interview with David Letterman in 2011. He’s also been curt with fans on occasion, too — when asked whether Han Solo or Greedo shot first during a 2014 Reddit AMA, he responded, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
So you’d expect him to be completely miserable while promoting the new “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” wouldn’t you? Except he’s doesn’t seem that way at all — he’s actually pretty content to be back.
Take his surprise appearance at Comic-Con this year, as part of thegiant Hall H panel for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Crowded together with other excited nerds and sitting in front of the heroes you’ve grown up with, it’s tough not to get excited about every little thing that happens — especially when it ends with a free live concert full of John Williams. (believe me, I was there. The Force was strong with that group.) But by far, the most awe-inspiring aspect of that event wasn’t seeing the new behind-the-scene footage, or hearing about the new characters, or even witnessing firsthand as one of the new creatures walked across the stage — it was listening to Ford talk about how skeptical he was about the new film and how his mind was changed.
“I never thought that [“Star Wars”] would come back to bless me rather than haunt me,” he told the crowd that day. “I was very gratified when I read the script. I read something that I thought was really remarkable, really well-written, with some very intriguing developments and I was very happy to be a part of the story.”
“It should’ve felt ridiculous,” he added. “It was 30 years ago, and I sort of grew up. And yet here I was doing something I did so long ago and I will tell you that it felt great.”
Since then, it’s tough to deny that he’s actually enjoying himself — not that he didn’t before (remember that one time he pierced Jimmy Fallon’s ear on “Late Night?”), but the extra exposure he’s been getting for his return to Han Solo has certainly allowed us to glimpse a looser, more relaxed side of him. For Halloween, he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel dressed as a hot dog, laughing and praising his new co-stars. And in a new video by Omaze put out today (November 19), he surprised “Star Wars” fans by inviting them to give to charity over a skype call — and you can’t deny that the joy he’s sharing with these strangers is heartwarming as all get out.
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